Electronic class and statutory certificates – Experience from more than 10,000 certificates issued

DNV GL has rolled out IMO-compliant electronic class and statutory certificates across its entire fleet, thus becoming the first class society to achieve full-scale production capability. More than 10,000 electronic certificates were issued during the first three weeks of production. Experience from the initial phase of full-scale production has been very encouraging, and no concerns have been raised from these early adaptors.

Electronic certificates will be further rolled out across the DNV GL fleet, with newbuilds receiving certificates on delivery, and existing vessels at their next scheduled survey or audit. Occasional surveys will also be considered as an opportunity to facilitate issuance of all the certificates in the electronic regime.

How does it work?

When issued or endorsed, certificates are published in the My DNV GL service Fleet Status in the customer portal immediately after an on-board survey has been completed. All relevant parties can then access the latest valid certificates from anywhere in the world. The electronic certificates are secured with a digital signature and a unique tracking number (UTN), which can be verified online at trust.dnvgl.com – the website for electronic certificates verification of validity and authenticity (see also illustration).

Main advantages

With electronic certificates from DNV GL,

owners and other stakeholders can save time and costs,

paper handling is eliminated (printing, scanning, archiving),

the latest certificates are always made available via the My DNV GL service Fleet Status,

certificates can be easily shared with stakeholders using temporary access codes (via the My DNV GL service Fleet Status),

new or updated certificates may be received via email subscriptions set up in the My DNV GL service Fleet Status, and

there is no risk of losing a certificate.

How do electronic certificates improve the current process?

The current cumbersome manual processes on board and ashore are prone to error, with misplaced/lost documents, confusion (when different stakeholders are holding different versions of a certificate) and additional costs. Besides, manual paper certificates create mundane tasks for seafarers and personnel ashore who could be more productively working on effective operation of the vessel.

Owners now get a unique opportunity to shift behaviours by implementing a more effective digital regime. Several companies with pilot vessels trading globally using electronic certificates have already initiated this digital change with great success.

Pilot projects and flag acceptance

For the past few years, DNV GL has been working on pilot projects with several owners and flag administrations, to test and gain acceptance for the use of electronic certificates. This has resulted in more than 50 flag state administrations already having granted DNV GL the authority to issue electronic statutory certificates on their behalf; more flags are expected to grant acceptance in the near future.

The latest overview of DNV GL’s flag acceptance is available on the Electronic Certificates web page.